Chapter 21

After posting Chapter 1, Episode 11 yesterday, the number of comments surged to a record high.

(￣(エ)￣)＜I’m tired of singing…

(=ↀωↀ=)＜Good job!

And it ranked second in the weekly overall. Thank you, everyone who read it!

□＜Noz Forest＞ 【Paladin】Ray Sterling

After buying information from Marie, I made an appointment to meet Luke later and came to the place that used to be the ＜Noz Forest＞ with Nemesis alone.

“Wow, this is…”

When we passed through the northern city gate, all we saw was a wasteland.

Just a wasteland.

The forest that should have been there was gone, and charred trees were scattered around.

It’s surprising that a single player could change the map so drastically.

The bullet holes, explosion marks, and the lingering smell of gunpowder.

It’s unclear whether the ＜Embryo＞ of the 【Destruction King】 is really a battleship, but it’s certain that, like my brother, it uses heavy weapons or weapon-type ＜Embryos＞.

However, while the other three identified and attacked PKs, the 【Destruction King】 seemed to destroy the entire map indiscriminately.

While it’s a testament to the 【Destruction King】’s power, it’s also quite troublesome.

The ＜Noz Forest＞, now in this state, can no longer function as a hunting ground and can hardly be called a forest.

If this were a city-building SLG, it would be quite rewarding to rebuild. The terrain is so uneven from the impact that I almost want a bulldozer to level it.

Well, since ＜Infinite Dendrogram＞ is classified as an RPG, that’s a moot point.

【Destruction King】, whose name and face I don’t know, went too far, even if it was to defeat PKs.

This is like cutting off an arm to treat a diseased finger.

“...No matter how you look at it, this will have a negative impact in the future.”

“Indeed. Not only the damage to the map, but the situation has worsened the outflow of players.”

This is not from the ＜Master＞ but from Tian.

Yesterday’s bombardment plunged the capital into fear.

The knights also mobilized from the northern gate, thinking it was a Dryf army ambush.

However, by the time they arrived, the bombardment had ended, leaving only the burning ＜Noz Forest＞.

Strangely, there was no sign of the fire spreading to the capital, but it couldn’t be left alone. The knights spent the whole night extinguishing the fire and are now exhausted.

Incidentally, I got this information from Liliana.

She also had dark circles under her eyes when we met on the street. “Now that you’ve become a 【Paladin】, Ray, could you help a little...” she said, almost crying.

“Even though we were underground during the bombardment, we didn’t notice it, did we?”

“I was still suffering from the aftereffects of the zombie panic, and you were too tired to notice.”

The destruction of the ＜Noz Forest＞, which the capital residents were familiar with, overnight was enough to cause confusion in the already tense city.

The next day, the exodus from the capital has accelerated.

One reason for this sudden movement is that the PKs have been driven out.

While the main target of PKs is the ＜Master＞, Tian is also at risk depending on the opponent, which has caused a halt in transportation.

With the sudden lifting of the restrictions today, people have started moving en masse.

PKs are also a formidable opponent for Tian.

Thinking about it, from Tian’s perspective, there’s no distinction between the ＜Master＞ and Tian.

The ＜Master＞, while using an ＜Embryo＞ and being immortal, is still a living human being.

In other words, PKs are seen as murderers by Tian.

Especially those who don’t care about Tian.

“However, solving the PK problem has its pros and cons.”

“The entire hunting ground is now useless. ...And the terror experience in the ＜Graveyard Labyrinth＞ was almost in vain.”

Despite the various expenses, it only gave us an advantage for one night.

Meeting Figaro was fortunate, though.

“But, that guy... the ＜Super Killer＞ managed to escape from an attack that destroyed the forest.”

“If what Black Sunglasses said is true.”

Black Sunglasses... like my brother Kumansan, Nemesis sometimes uses strange nicknames.

Now, the information about the PK in the ＜Noz Forest＞—the ＜Super Killer＞—that Marie provided came from the source herself.

She went to the scene for reporting, albeit late, after yesterday’s incident.

According to her, the ＜Super Killer＞ escaped from the bombardment that burned down the entire forest and managed to get away.

“He was using a skill to conceal his appearance, so I couldn’t see him, but the characteristics of the ＜Embryo＞ he used made it clear it was him!” she said.

When I asked, she described it as a “pistol-type ＜Embryo＞ that launches bullet monsters.” That’s correct.

The ＜Super Killer＞ was neutralizing the incoming bombardment—some of which were homing—by firing a barrage of bullet monsters.

He then fled into the capital.

Even the 【Destruction King】, who caused such destruction, couldn’t bomb the capital and let him get away.

Thinking about it, this could be seen as a retreat from a superior opponent... in a fair fight, I would have lost, and he would have won.

It’s a mixed feeling that the revenge target wasn’t taken by the 【Destruction King】.

“Let’s head back. I have an appointment with Luke.”

“Right... huh?”

As we were about to return to the capital, Nemesis suddenly focused on a point in the landscape as if she had noticed something.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you think that is?”

Nemesis pointed, but I couldn’t see anything in that direction.

“I can’t see anything, but is there something there?”

“There’s a heat haze, even though it’s not hot. No, it’s... a distortion in space?”

Nemesis walked towards the point she was pointing at and... disappeared.

“...!? Nemesis!”

I ran to where Nemesis had disappeared and passed through an “invisible curtain.”

I felt it was a curtain because it was very soft, despite blocking the view.

I passed through it with the same force as slipping through a curtain and...

“...!?”

I found myself in a space that was neither bright nor dark, and had no sense of up or down.

In this space, countless blue, transparent windows floated, and among them, I saw two familiar figures.

“Master, where are we...”

One was Nemesis, who was unharmed and looking back at me.

The other was... no, “one” was.

“...Huh? Why can players enter here?”

The cat, who was skillfully operating the windows with both hands, was Cheshire, the management AI I met when I started ＜Infinite Dendrogram＞.

◇

A few minutes after slipping through the invisible curtain and entering the mysterious space, Nemesis and I were sitting in chairs and drinking tea that Cheshire had prepared.

Cheshire had prepared them, saying, “I’ll explain, but standing around is no good.”

This space, which was supposed to have nothing but windows, saw Cheshire casually pull out chairs, a table, a tea set, and snacks from his pocket.

It looked like a certain long-running cat robot anime I’ve seen since childhood. Except Cheshire has ears.

That pocket is probably the same principle as the bag I have, an item box. The pocket type is more compact and convenient than the bag type.

“The pocket type is popular. Many children, and even adults, want a pocket-type box because of Doraemon.”

Indeed, Doraemon.

Well, that’s one of the dreams of children.

Among the gadgets, I wanted the TakoPutter.

My brother wanted the MomoBox. “If you say ‘I have all the gadgets in the MomoBox,’ you get everything,” he said.

Back to the topic.

“Getting to the point, what was the management AI doing here?”

“Preparing the environment, I guess. The main work is done by 3 and 5... the monster and environment management AIs. This space is like a makeshift workspace.”

Like a prefab building at a construction site.

“Normally, only we can see and enter, but that ＜Embryo＞ seems to be like a Maiden, so it’s possible. Ray, you were pulled in by the ＜Embryo＞.”

“Is there a difference if it’s a Maiden?”

“It’s more aligned with us. It still has the ■■■ function.”

Huh?

“What did you just say?”

“Oops, sorry. It’s information that can’t be verbalized here. It’s not a big deal, so forget it.”

I’m not sure if he answered my question or not.

It might be a confidentiality issue for the operators. After all, we’re seeing the backstage.

There are other things I want to ask, so let’s leave this topic for now.

“By the way, are you going to fix this area? I thought you’d prioritize realism and leave it as is.”

Actually, the ＜Old Orchard＞, which was occupied by insect monsters, was left as it was.

But I wondered if the ＜Noz Forest＞, a beginner’s hunting ground, was an exception, but Cheshire shook his head.

“We won’t fix it. We won’t directly regenerate the ＜Noz Forest＞ lost in this incident. However, we can arrange factors to make it easier for a similar environment to form. My job is to prepare for that.”

Cheshire paused, took a sip of tea, and continued.

Incidentally, he doesn’t seem to have a cat tongue.

“This world is free. Whether it’s players, Tian, or monsters, the management AI does not undo the results of the freedom exercised in this world. We don’t care what happens as a result of that freedom. ...However, there are occasional exceptions. There are penalty management AIs, too.”

“Penalties? If PKs aren’t punished, what for?”

“Well, when they are wanted by a country. You know, most countries in this world have laws, but players can escape from prison by logging out or respawning. The police and knights here don’t have the technology to prevent players from logging out or respawning. So, the player prison, known as the ‘Penitentiary,’ is managed by the AI. When a player is wanted, they can’t use save points, either.”

...I see, if there were no penalties other than despawn penalties, players could commit crimes repeatedly.

“Incidentally, this is part of the world’s setting. ‘If a ＜Master＞ is defeated in a state where they cannot return to a save point due to a crime, they are transferred to the ‘Penitentiary.’’ So, it’s better to register save points in as many countries as possible.”

“I won’t do anything to be wanted, though.”

But the “Penitentiary”... I’ll have to be careful not to end up there.

“It’s okay. Even if you’re wanted, you won’t be sent there unless you’re defeated.”

...Strong criminals won’t be left unchecked, then.

“Hmm, with a penalty-specific management AI... what’s the cat’s job?”

“I’m the general-purpose AI.”

General-purpose?

“AIs have their strengths and weaknesses. I’m not good at system management, especially environmental management.”

“Is the work you’re doing now different?”

“This is just preparation. I’m just placing objects. For a full environmental simulation, I’d have to control the entropy of cloud particles.”

“...”

It would give me a headache just to think about it. But that’s what the management AI can do.

This Cheshire seems to be capable, though.

“My main job is probably guiding new players through the tutorial. It’s a job for AIs with spare computational resources. I’ve handled half of the players who come here.”

“Half is a lot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, and I’m still handling the tutorial while we’re talking. Like this.”

Cheshire split into five.

All five were operating the windows and talking at the same time.

“Like this.”

“But splitting here doesn’t make sense.”

“Five of us don’t change the work speed.”

“The computational capacity used for this task doesn’t change.”

“Actually, it’s a bit slower because of the extra computational overhead.”

Saying that, the five merged back into one.

“To be honest...”

Thinking about the computational talk, I was reminded that this is inside a game server.

It might be the first time I’ve seen the cyber technology side of things.

“I’m good at this kind of parallel processing, so I’m assigned to general tasks.”

“I see. So, the other half is handled by another AI?”

“Yes. The AI with spare computational resources at the time handles it. Some are unapproachable and won’t let you redo character creation.”

You should let them redo it.

Come to think of it, my brother messed up his character creation, so he might have encountered that AI.

◇

After chatting with Cheshire for about twenty minutes over tea and snacks, we decided to leave.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen people outside of the reception. I’d like to give you a souvenir, but the operators would consider it favoritism and it would be out of the question.”

“It’s fine. The tea and snacks were enough. Thank you.”

“Aye. They were delicious.”

They were surprisingly delicious... and I was worried because Nemesis ate a mountain of them.

“Well, it’s nice to hear that.”

The cookies were homemade. That’s surprising.

...No, wait. How did he make cookies with those cat hands?

“Those cookies could be sold commercially, you know.”

“I’ll think about it. Oh, right. Ray, you’re heading to Gideon, right?”

We talked about that a bit over tea.

“Yes, but...”

“...‘Be careful.’”

Cheshire said this meaningfully.

It sounded pitiful, and the atmosphere suggested that some flag had been set.

“Hey, is something going to happen?”

“There might be, but...”

He seems reluctant to say. Is it considered favoritism if he says it?

“So, I’ll say this within the bounds of what’s acceptable. ‘The devil’s heart is in his belly.’”

“?”

“That’s all. You might not encounter it, but...”

Cheshire gave me a riddle or a hint from a mystery novel.

It must have some meaning. I’ll write it down in the memo window to remember it.

“Well, I don’t know if we’ll meet again, but if we do...”

“Yeah, see you.”

We passed through the exit Cheshire created and returned to the original map.

◇

When we passed through the exit, we were back at the site of the ＜Noz Forest＞. According to Nemesis, there was no trace of the entrance to Cheshire’s workspace now.

Checking the time, it seemed that time flowed the same inside and outside the space, and it was just after 3 PM.

We had an appointment with Luke at 4 PM, so we should make it.

Ray and Nemesis headed to the designated meeting place, the Adventurer’s Guild.

To be continued

The next update is tomorrow at 21:00.

(=ↀωↀ=)＜It’s been a while since I appeared in the main story.

(￣(エ)￣)＜Some might be seeing the tutorial for the first time because they skipped it, Kumansan.

(=ↀωↀ=)＜...Please look forward to the tutorial I’m in charge of.